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Nikki Haley changes course and calls Trump "incredibly reckless" (if charges are true) [1]
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Date: 2023-06-12
On Friday, Nikki Haley tweeted her feelings on Trump’s indictment. Anyone hoping for a new angle or innovative thinking was disappointed. She trotted out typical GOP boilerplate.
“This is not how justice should be pursued in our country. The American people are exhausted by the prosecutorial overreach, double standards, and vendetta politics. It’s time to move beyond the endless drama and distractions.”
It is an unremarkable sentiment from someone content to be a superannuated UN Ambassador and ex-State Governor. However, Haley is a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — and this sort of derivative drivel will not advance her cause.
The Republican nomination will be Trump, Desantis, or someone who confronts Trump head-on. Trump will win if the judicial process drags on and MAGA politicians and conservative media shills keep up their supporting fire. DeSantis will win if Trump’s legal odyssey turns up a smoking gun like the Watergate tapes — and Ron discovers rudimentary retail political skills and figures out how to act like a human being.
Any other candidate has to put daylight between themselves and Trump. So far, Chris Christie is the only one who has announced he will go toe to toe with Captain Crook. The rest — Haley, Scott, and the other names — have given the voter no reason to get behind them. Claims to be ‘MAGA without the drama’ miss the point that MAGA is the drama.
Nikki Haley had been one of those ineffectual candidates who thought GOP voters cared about their record and positions. This old-time approach was not a successful strategy. She has languished south of 5% in the GOP primary polling.
Haley may have realized this. Today she unveiled a more aggressive approach. On the Fox News show, The Story, host Martha MacCallum asked Haley her opinion of Trump’s upcoming indictment: “What’s your reaction to what’s going on and what we’re gonna see play out tomorrow? What do you say to voters about how they should look at this?”
Haley replied ,
“Two things can be true at the same time. One, the DOJ and FBI have lost all credibility with the American people. And getting rid of just senior management isn’t gonna be enough to fix this. This is gonna take a complete overhaul and we have to do that.
This is standard Republican bitching. Those nihilists repeat ad nauseam that the DoJ and FBI are untrustworthy pro-Democratic branches of the deep state — and then whine that the “American people” do not trust them. It is like an arsonist burning down the corner deli while complaining that people are tired of corner deli owners burning down their businesses.
Haley continues,
”Two, the second thing can also be true. If this indictment is true, if what it says is actually the case, President Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security.”
Here Haley spits the bit and gets more interesting. She hedges, understandably. Every American is innocent until proven guilty. However, she calls a putatively guilty Trump “incredibly reckless.” It is a good insult. “Reckless” implies the miscreant is putting other people in danger. And it layers in stupidity.
Haley should hope that Trump takes the bait and fires back with a dumbass ALL CAPS TWEET in which he gives her some simplistic nickname. Then, if she has the steel to join the fight, she can start swinging. Standing up to a bully may hurt you, but it is the best way to earn some cred. (Watch any high school movie on the subject.)
Haley adds,
”More than that, I’m a military spouse. My husband’s about to deploy this weekend. This puts all of our military men and women in danger if you’re going to talk about what our military is capable of or how we would about invading or doing something with one of our enemies. And if that’s the case, it’s reckless, it’s frustrating, and it causes problems.”
This needs work. Good politicians — think Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan — do not make it about them (while all along, it is completely about them). If I were Haley’s speechwriter, I would take the I/My and relegate it.
She should start: “Americans love and cherish the military men and women in their families. I know, I am married to one. And all of us are horrified that a thoughtless bastard might put those we cherish in harm's way merely to stroke his ego or make a buck. Americans cannot vote for a commander-in-chief who treats our uniformed patriots like dirt.”
I do not know if it would make a difference, but it has to feel better going down swinging than schoolmarm-ing it with platitudes and niceties — while acting as an apologist for a vile human being.
Haley closed her remarks by saying,
“My concern is the direction of the country. The fact that we cannot have Biden win this election. We've [the GOP] got to have someone who can win the general election.”
If Haley wants that “someone” to be her, she must fight for it. And you are not fighting for it if you are not going full bore to eviscerate the front-runner.
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/12/2175003/-Nikki-Haley-changes-course-and-calls-Trump-incredibly-reckless-if-charges-are-true
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